Hockey
16 September, 2025
Tigers lock in 10th straight premiership
As three hard-fought grand final matches were played out in perfect early spring weather at the Dimboola Health and Fitness Centre on Saturday, the premier Wimmera hockey teams were decided for 2025.
The day promised not only three big matches between the two most in-form teams in each division but also several intriguing subplots around each team’s motivation for victory.
Together, the three Yanac teams were striving for the ‘trifecta’: one club winning all three grand finals – a feat that only they have achieved, most recently for the third time in 2023.
Individually, the Yanac Tigers were aiming for their 10th consecutive open title, and 22nd in total, while the Yanac Women were after redemption after completing the perfect regular season only to lose their first match in the semi-finals, and despite the challenges of an ever-changing squad as older players progress to senior competition each year, the Yanac Warriors were looking for a seventh title in a row.
Opposing them were the Horsham Hurricanes, who were playing in their first open division grand final since 2008, and eying off their first premiership since 2005, the Dimboola Roos, having only returned to the women’s competition last year, were looking to write their own fairytale ending with a grand final win, and an under 16 premiership for the Nhill Leopards would be the club’s first since 2016.
The conditions were perfect at Dimboola for these matches as a significant crowd assembled to witness the spectacle, and all six teams rose to the occasion and delivered a memorable on-field finish to the 2025 season.
A well-attended awards presentation dinner was held in the evening where individual achievements were celebrated through the announcement of the best and fairest players in each competition, as well as several other presentations.
Open grand final
The open grand final promised to be an entertaining encounter, with the Horsham Hurricanes, who after a slow start to their season were showing their best form over recent weeks and went into this game on their favourite playing surface as a serious challenger to the dominance of the undefeated Yanac Tigers with their many years of finals experience.
The challengers started strongly, earning three penalty corners in the first quarter, and they took the lead when Jason Harris converted the last of these close to the first break, but after Rourkey Croot scored for the Tigers early in the second quarter in an otherwise very even period of play the scores were tied at half-time.
The scores were still locked together at one-all at the last break after Hurricanes’ goalkeeper Lars Simmons successfully defended a penalty stroke late in the third quarter.
When play resumed for the final period the Tigers’ relentless pressure and experience enabled them to take control of the game and the lead, with Zach Dorrington scoring three minutes in.
Further goals from Bradley Alexander and Raine Mackley saw the Tigers seal another grand final win by four goals to one.
Yanac veteran Simon Farmers received the medal for best player in the match, with teammates Raine Mackley and Shaun Alexander also playing well, and the umpires named Jason Harris, Jeff Mills and Tom Batchelor as the Hurricanes’ best players.
Women’s grand final
A hectic start to the women’s finals saw Yanac earn three penalty corners in the first quarter, and they capitalised when they converted two of these within five minutes of the first break through Mikayla Mackley and Alexis Farmers.
Six more penalty corners in the second quarter suggested that Yanac had complete control of the game, but some staunch Roos’ defence, led by Cara Hadzig and Ellie Baldock, kept them to just one goal from this effort, taking their lead to three goals by half-time.
A determined Dimboola team started the next quarter strongly, earning a penalty corner within seconds of play resuming, from which Jennie Hauselberger got the Roos onto the scoreboard. Yanac continued applying the pressure, but the Dimboola defenders put in another strong display, keeping Yanac scoreless for the quarter.
While Yanac continued to control the balance of the play throughout the last quarter, neither team scored again, and Yanac claimed the 2025 premiership.
Mikayla Mackley received the Jane Gregson Memorial Medal as the best player in the match, with Alexis Famers and Erin Alexander also shining for the premiers, and defenders Cara Hadzig, Ellie Baldock and Brooke McMaster were the standout players for the Roos.
Under 16s grand final
The under 16s set a high standard in the first match of the day with the closest result and the only game to go to a shootout.
Throughout a very even first half, both teams mounted some strong attacking moves which were matched by some solid defence at each end of the pitch, and the teams went into half-time with an empty score sheet.
It was the Nhill Leopards who upped the pressure halfway through the third quarter when Oliver Bone converted a penalty corner, and as the end of the game approached it looked as if this would be enough as they still held this lead deep into the final quarter.
However, the Yanac Warriors weren’t ready to hand over the title just yet and equalised in the last seconds of regular time when Henry Zanker scored off a penalty corner.
In the penalty shootout that followed the Warriors had the lead after one attempt each, but the Leopards overtook this, converting two of their remaining four while holding the Warriors scoreless to claim the premiership.
The Peter Colbert Medal for the best player in the match was awarded to Thar Shue Bee of the Nhill Leopards, with Jack Cannell and Daniel Bee the other players to stand out for the premiers, and Aaron Pedie, Henry Zanker and Lacey Cramer played well for the Warriors.
RESULTS
Open grand final: Yanac Tigers 4 (goals Z Dorrington, B Alexander, R Mackley, R Croot; best S Farmers, R Mackley, S Alexander) defeated Horsham Hurricanes 1 (goal J Harris; best J Harris, J Mills, T Batchelor); Life Members’ Medal for best on ground – Simon Farmers (Yanac Tigers)
Women’s grand final: Yanac 3 (goals M Mackley 2, A Farmers; best M Mackley, A Farmers, E Alexander) defeated Dimboola Roos 1 (goal J Hauselberger; best C Hadzig, E Baldock, B McMaster); Jane Gregson Memorial Medal for best on ground – Mikayla Mackley (Yanac)
Under 16s grand final: Nhill Leopards 1 (2) (goals O Bone 2, B Clark; best T Bee, J Cannell, D Bee) defeated Yanac Warriors 1 (1) (goals H Zanker, A Zanker; best A Pedie, H Zanker, L Cramer); Peter Colbert Medal for best on ground – Thar Shue Bee (Nhill Leopards)
